Past Tense: V/A + 았어요/었어요

Explanation

-았어요/었어요 politely describes something that happened or a state that existed in the past. It follows the same vowel rule as -아요/어요: use -았어요 when the last stem vowel is ㅏ or ㅗ, use -었어요 otherwise, and change 하다 to 했어요. After a noun, use 이었어요 (after a consonant) or 였어요 (after a vowel).

How to form it

• Last stem vowel is ㅏ or ㅗ → add -았어요

  살다 → 살았어요, 가다 → 갔어요

• Any other stem vowel → add -었어요

  먹다 → 먹었어요, 배우다 → 배웠어요

• Words ending in 하다 → 했어요

  운동하다 → 운동했어요

Examples

• 어제 친구를 만났어요.

  I met a friend yesterday.

• 아침에 비빔밥을 먹었어요.

  I ate bibimbap this morning.

• 주말에 집에서 청소했어요.

  I cleaned the house over the weekend.

• 지난주에는 날씨가 아주 추웠어요.

  The weather was very cold last week.